Students Leading Effort to Measure Sustainability at RWU

With sustainability embraced as a university mission and campus culture, students are tracking and evaluating how Roger Williams University measures up in making greater strides toward sustainability from energy conservation to teaching concepts

A rarefaction-tracking method for hyperbolic conservation laws

We present a numerical method for scalar conservation laws in one space dimension. The solution is approximated by local similarity solutions. While many commonly used approaches are based on shocks, the presented method uses rarefaction and compression waves. The solution is represented by particles that carry function values and move according to the method of characteristics. Between two neighboring particles, an interpolation is defined by an analytical similarity solution of the conservation law. An interaction of particles represents a collision of characteristics. The resulting shock is resolved by merging particles so that the total area under the function is conserved. The method is variation diminishing, nevertheless, it has no numerical dissipation away from shocks. Although shocks are not explicitly tracked, they can be located accurately. We present numerical examples, and outline specific applications and extensions of the approach.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures. Similarity 2008 conference proceeding

Satellite tracking in sea turtles: How do we find our way to the conservation dividends?

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.As species of conservation concern, sea turtles have historically been difficult to study because of their elusive nature and extensive ranges, but improvements in telemetry have facilitated insights into life histories and behaviours which can potentially inform conservation policies. To date, there have been few assessments of the impact of satellite tracking data on species conservation, and it is difficult to clearly gauge whether the dividends justify the costs. Through an extensive review of the literature (369 papers, 1982-2014) and a questionnaire-based survey of 171 sea turtle tracking researchers, we evaluate the conservation dividends gained thus far from tracking and highlight conservation successes. We discuss who is tracking and where, where biases in effort exist, and evaluate the impact of tracking data on conservation. Conservation issues are increasingly being considered. Where research recommends policy change, the quality of advice varies and the level of uptake is still uncertain, with few clearly described examples of tracking-data actually influencing policy. The means to increase the conservation impact are discussed, including: disseminating findings more widely; communicating and collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders for more effective data sharing; community liaison, and endeavouring to close the gaps between researchers and conservation practitioners

Schaeffer's regularity theorem for scalar conservation laws does not extend to systems

Several regularity results hold for the Cauchy problem involving one scalar conservation law having convex flux. Among these, Schaeffer's theorem guarantees that if the initial datum is smooth and is generic, in the Baire sense, the entropy admissible solution develops at most finitely many shocks, locally, and stays smooth out of them. We rule out with the present paper the possibility of extending Schaeffer's regularity result to the class of genuinely nonlinear, strictly hyperbolic systems of conservation laws. The analysis relies on careful interaction estimates and uses fine properties of the wave-front tracking approximation

Translating Marine Animal Tracking Data into Conservation Policy and Management

There have been efforts around the globe to track individuals of many marine species and assess their movements and distribution with the putative goal of supporting their conservation and management. Determining whether, and how, tracking data have been successfully applied to address real-world conservation issues is however difficult. Here, we compile a broad range of case studies from diverse marine taxa to show how tracking data have helped inform conservation policy and management, including reductions in fisheries bycatch and vessel strikes, and the design and administration of marine protected areas and important habitats. Using these examples, we highlight pathways through which the past and future investment in collecting animal tracking data might be better used to achieve tangible conservation benefits